Thailand aims to drive twin-centre domestic holidays

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has unveiled a new campaign intended to encourage more Thais to take twin-centre domestic trips.

The tourism board has unveiled a list of ’12 Hidden Gems Plus’ – an extension of its earlier 12 Hidden Gems initiative, which aims to drive visitors to a more diverse range of Thai destinations.

Under the new scheme, Thais are being encouraged to combine two nearby destinations during their domestic breaks. For example, the historic northern town of Lampang is promoted in tandem with Lamphun, while the resort province of Rayong is being tied together neighbouring Trat.

The TAT will also use local folklore to promote tourism, highlighting “24 sites of myth and legend” in the selected destinations.

“Under the… ‘Discover Thainess’ concept, TAT’s main strategies for domestic tourism marketing for 2016 are to continue to instil national pride among the Thai people by both inspiring and encouraging them to travel more domestically,” said Anupharp Thirarath, TAT’s deputy governor for domestic marketing. “And in giving more reasons for Thais to travel frequently within the country, we have lined up a number of unique destinations with impressive stories that deserve a visit.

“The folklore tourism is aimed to attract Thais with high disposable income, including senior citizens, female and Generation Y travellers, and the DINKs (double income no kids) groups,” Anupharp added.

Under the new drive, the TAT is targeting a 4% increase domestic trips in 2016, to 150.8 million, and an 8% rise in domestic tourism revenues, to THB807m (US$23.7m).

The domestic campaign follows the recent TAT announcement that Thailand will shift its international focus to “quality” tourism, with the aim of increasing visitor expenditure, average length of stay, and the quality of the visitor experience.